Generals Command
by mizzy101
Summary: Max is a general in the US army, but when she if forced to take a break and attend a proper school, she has to stay in a proper house, too. How will she cope with the pressures of being a normal teenager, and what will she do about Fang and his friends, the guys all the girls are after, when she has to live with him? I own nothing but the plot. Please read and review!
1. intro

Chapter 1 - intro

(Max POV)

My name is Max. I am 16 years old, and I have no family and no friends my own age. Why, you ask? Because I am a soldier. I was born (created) in a science lab at a place called the School.

They mixed the DNA of god knows what in with the egg I was born from, and now, I am a superhuman. Well, super-un-human, really. With the help of a good doctor named Damon, I was able to escape when I turned four, not that it did much good, seeing as I was caught again later that year by the US government. Or something like that. Apparently it is abnormal for a four-year old to be able to run faster than a dog. So, when the School heard about me, they came and took me away again, claiming I was the lost child of one of their workers. Whatever.

This time though, Damon wasn't there to help me. For six long years, they taught me the true meaning of hate, pain, hunger and cruelty. Then, one day, with no warning at all, they took me out into a yard and just let me go. I was skeptical at first, but when someone came out carrying a taser, I didn't stop to ask questions.

Well, enough of the back story Now, here I am, working for the most elite military force in the history of man. Oh, and did I mention I was a General? General Maximum Ride. I quite liked the sound of that when the position was offered to me.

I had just come back from Rio, on a mission to take down an arms dealer who was allied with the soviets (god knows how he did that). I had been shot four, five times and was in the hospital. I still don't know why I can't get on a plane with a couple of almost healed wounds. It's not like I've never had worse.

And about the school? For all I know, they're all dead. I haven't seen an Eraser in years. Erasers were like guards in their little prison, Werewolves, I think the humans call them.

Thanks for reading. please R & R!


	2. Bad news

Hi again! Thanks for reading. This is my first fanfic so any help will be much appreciated. (God, I sound like my mom!) Anyway, I own nothing!

Chapter 2 - Bad news

(Max POV)

As the plane touched down in Washington, I felt nothing but relief to be home, well, not quite _home, _but you know what I mean. Finally, after nearly a whole year away, I stepped onto the hard ground and made my way across the tarmac to the familiar airport. Oh, why did I wear shorts? It was way too cold over here, unlike the hot tropics of Brazil.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside was the three men in black suits. They just don't get the whole idea of being inconspicuous, do they? And it wasn't just me who saw them. A whole crowd of people were staring at then, wondering who they were. I walked over to them, and a younger looking man stepped out from behind them. I've never really understood why I needed bodyguards, or whatever the hell they were anyway. I can take care of myself, can't I? Or maybe they were here for the 'other guy'…

Anyway, I'll spare you the boring details, but apparently 'other guy' has a name. Carl. I was never a big fan of the name Carl. It sounds weird. Anyway, so he said something about sending me back to school (or me attending a in the first place). I objected, of course, but… well I don't really know what happened. Stupid Carl.

So even my high title isn't enough to spare me from high school. I've heard about it, the first time I was almost forced to go a few months back, before I got the Rio gig. Now, my only hope of escaping this grim fate is if someone decides to build a nuclear weapon. Yeah, right.

Oh my god! People are actually reading this! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! Sorry, I know this might seem like a bit of an overreaction, but I didn't think the story was any good! Please R & R!


	3. A New Home

**Heyo! Ok, so I've got a few reviews saying that I should write longer chapters, so I'm going to combine a few chapters and post them as one. Buuuuuuuut, I need some help. Advice. Whatever you want to call it. How many chapters should I write? Because I don't want to write too little and have people be disappointed, but I don't want to drag it out forever and have people get bored. What should I do?**

_Thoughts _ 'talking'

Chapter 3 - A New Home

(Max POV)

Well. Where to start? It is around 2:00 and I am currently standing outside my new temporary home. I am supposed to stay here for a few months. Someone's attempt to get me to live a normal life. Psh, like that's ever gonna happen.

Don't bother asking, I wont tell you where I'm staying. It's in america, that's all I'll say. But you probably could have figured that out yourself.

I probably should have said something about this earlier, but I have wings. Yep. Wings. I can fully retract them into my back so it looks like they're not there. It's pretty awesome. And when I want to, I can make the feathers turn to steel, like little, bendy razor-sharp blades. Anyway, sorry. I'm blabbering. Blabbering? Blubbering? Which is it? Oh, never mind.

So Carl - and company - basically shoved me in the back seat of a car with my duffel bag full of clothes that had been sent ahead of me to Washington and he handed me my handgun. We had a big argument about that. Then, he gave me the files of the people I would be staying with and briefed me on what I would be doing. Valencia Martinez was the mother, and she had two sons; Nick - 17 and Zephyr - 10 and a daughter, Angel, who was 8.

As I stood outside the house, dreading the moment the front door opened, I wondered what Carl had told them about me. He said they didn't know about the wings, or the fact that I was not entirely human.

I finally mustered up the courage to walk up to the door and ring the doorbell, my luggage in tow. I heard some heavy footsteps that sounded like someone coming down a staircase and a few moments later, the doorknob turned, and the door opened.

The woman who I assumed must've been Valencia was standing in the doorway, wiping her hands on a hand towel (as you do).

'Ah, you must be Max. Carl told me all about you. Please, please, come in! Nick will help you with your bags.'

'Hello Ms. Martinez.'

'Oh, Ms. Martinez. Please, call me mom, or at least Val. Ms. Martinez sounds so formal.'  
I nodded and stepped further into the warm house as "mom" closed the door. She turned towards the staircase, which was to the right of the door and shouted

'Nick! Get down here and help Max get settled in!'

It only took a few seconds after the mention of my being in the house for loud thumping noises to be heard before two pairs of hurried footsteps could be singled out around all the background noise.

I looked to the stairs, half fearful and half curious about who, or what, could make such a noise. Then, the banging stopped, and two girls descended the stairs.

One looked about , with short blond curls, wearing a pink frilly dress and carrying a white bear with wings in a tutu. The other had darker skin, and black frizzy hair. She was wearing ripped denim shorts and a black tank top with the name of a band printed on the front.

'Oh, hello girls. Angel, Monique, this is Max. She will be staying with us for a while. Max, this is my daughter Angel and her best friend Monique.'

"Mom" leaned down and whispered in my ear;

'You don't seem like the type to wear make-up and fancy dresses, so if I were you, I would avoid getting trapped in their room alone _at all costs_.'

I smiled a little at that, but shuddered at the thought of being forced into a _dress, _of all things. And me? Wearing _make-up? _Uh, we are on planet Earth here, aren't we?

'NICK RIDE! IF YOU DON'T GET DOWN HERE AND -'

'You called?'

I jumped as someone spoke, and a figure stepped out from the shadows. Wait, shadows? It's the middle of the day. Since when are there shadows? Angel giggled at my reaction. I guess she'd be used to this thing if he does that a lot.

'Finally. Nick, this is Max. Max, nick.'

"Mom" said while motioning to us in turn.

'She will be staying with us for a while. Now, I want you to take her stuff up to her room and help her make up the bed. Show her around the house, you know the drill. Step to!'

The guy named Nick walked towards me and picked up my bag. Then, I noticed what he was wearing. A black t-shirt that said "Make love, not war" and a pair of plain black jeans. He looked at me and motioned with his head for me to follow him.

He led me upstairs and down the right hall.

'Your room is the first on the left.'

'Thanks Nick.'

'Call me Fang.'

He said this as he stopped in front of a door which must have led to my room. I opened it, and walked inside. "Fang" dumped my bag on the floor and left.

_Well he seems like a cheery guy_

**Right. 3****rd**** chapter up. So now I am going to be posting more but less often. Ok? Ok. As always, thanks for reading and reviews are greatly appreciated. Lol. I almost spelled 'greatly' like 'graty'. There's no such word as 'graty'! XD sorry. Heat has gotten to my brain. Make me think everything are funny and make me go weirder-er. Hehehe. Weirder-er. SORRY. I'm going to shut up now. Read and review!**


	4. First day

**Hi. so. Happy late New Year! Hope everyone had fun. I went up to Sydney with a friend. The fireworks were amazing! They're supposed to be one of the best displays in the world I'm Australian, btw. And I own nothing.**

Chapter 4 – First day

(Max POV)

Well, after creepy emo dude showed me my room – and the house – we did… nothing. "Mom" told me to make myself at home, but I didn't really how. So I settled for making a ham and cheese toastie. And I unpacked my bag. But that's boring.

And because I'm so nice, I'll spare you the boring details. Basically, nothing happened until dinner. And nothing happened through dinner. This is a rather quiet family.

At 8:00, the front door opened, and a boy who looked a lot like a male version of Angel walked in. Fang, Angel and I were watching some reality TV show. And I have to say, I much prefer that to whatever fresh hell school will drag me into. Well, I think school itself is hell, but you know what I mean. Don't make me ramble.

'MOM! I'M BACK!'

That must be Zephyr. Weird name for a person. I had no idea where mom was, but wherever she was, she must've heard him. I mean, this house isn't that big, so I don't know why I was surprised.

'Oh, hi honey. How was your play date?'

Mom walked down the short corridor that led to the laundry and hugged the kid.

'Mom! It's not called a play date!'

If I didn't know better, I'd think he was a little embarrassed about the fact that his mom still treated him like a five year old. But I don't know better, so I will think that.

After mom introduced me to Zephyr, and after he told me his name was "Gazzy", I got a call from someone. I'd tell you who, but this sort of information is classified. Fine, if you insist. It was Carl, checking on how I was going, and oh-so-kindly informing me that the next day, I would be attending the same school as Fang. For a year. A whole freaking year! Believe me, I did everything I could, but nope. Nothing could change his mind. I'm screwed.

He had made some "arrangements" and I now had all my classes with the snarky jerk. From what few words he had said to me, I could tell that this was going to be a very long year.

Mom woke me up at 6:00 in the morning. It's nice to sleep in. she had made our lunches the night before, so all I really had to do was get dressed and have breakfast and do a bunch of other stuff people usually do when getting ready for school.

The bus came and picked us up from outside our house at 7:00. How nice of them. Or, him. Actually, the bus driver was a girl, which was a bit surprising. I don't know why. Just was.

The doors closed behind me as I reached the last step. Oh god. It was even worse than I thought it would be. I was having a mental freak-out. But, of course, my exterior was calm and confident, as always.

Near the back of the bus, I see a spare seat, up against the window and walk over to it. No-one tried to kill me with death glares, so I sat down. An hour or so later, we arrive at school. Ugh. I hate that word. Schooooool. Sounds horrible. Even worse than when you have to actually go there.

School looks like a hell hole. And that's just from the outside. We had no uniforms, so I was wearing a pair of dark jeans made out of god-knows-what and a blue Elwood Tee. Fang was walking next to me, in a black shirt and jeans. What a surprise.

I had my timetable and locker number from the office, and there was at least 15 minutes before class started.

Fang hadn't said anything to me since we arrived at school, and I had a feeling he wasn't about to start. Like I said. Isn't he a lively character?

As we walked down the halls, everyone was staring at us, well mainly me I think, and it was making me nervous. But, being the proud creature that I am, I let nothing show. Faking confidence came naturally to me now, after doing it for so long in considerably more hostile places.

When we got to my locker, Fang told me the combination, and showed me how to use the lock. In five minutes, he had spoken more words than he had the whole previous day. When he was about to leave, I pulled him back to ask him something.

'Hey. What's your deal? You're acting like I've got the plague or something.'

'You have the plague, and I have a reputation I'd like to keep. Find a friend, or go bug someone else.'

Wow. Talk about giving someone the cold shoulder. This guy could freeze an oven. I swear I felt a shiver run down my spine. Almost as soon as he left, a crowd of people formed around him, most of them girls, but it looked like he had a few mates, in terms, friends and girlfriends.

We had science first, after homeroom. This would be easy. If the whole year was like this, then all I would have to do is sit back and let auto-pilot take control.

I chose a seat near the back of the class. Well, when I say chose… there were only two seats left and I was not going to sit up the front, even if it was for only 20 minutes every morning.

**Well. Better length? I would write more, but I want to save some drama for other chapters. Sorry. Thank you for reading. Seriously, guys. When I started writing this, I just thought, 'oh, what's the point? No-one will read it, and if they do, they're not going to like it!' But thank you so much for sticking with it, and sorry I keep making little changes to the 3****rd**** chapter all the time. Don't know if you have noticed or not. If not, then forget I wrote anything. So yeah. Please R & R!**


	5. School

**I'm ba-ack! So. Bum bah-ba-dum. What to talk about? 4 out of the 15 reviews mentioned longer chapters. Are the lengths any better? I would write more, but I struggle to keep each chapter interesting without changing the scene too many times. And Max does have wings, but she can retract them into her back so it looks completely normal. Most of this chapter will be in a flashback to Max's first day. Thanks for reading! I own nothing.**

Chapter 5 – School

(Max POV)

My first day at school was HELL. I hadn't thought it would be _that _bad, but I was wrong. I was oh, so very, _very_ wrong.

I dumped my bag in my room and lay down of the bed that had been pushed over to the far side of the room, up against the window. It was a nice room. It was big enough to feel spacious, but not over the top.

Next to my bed, on the west wall was my chest of draws. Next to that, backed up against the adjacent wall, opposite to my bed is the built-in wardrobe. At the foot of my bed stood a white bookcase, on the same wall as my bed. On the final wall was a long wooden desk, and above that, a cardboard pin board. The door was next to the wardrobe. **(A/N: Ok, so what if I'm describing my own room. I'm un-imaginative.)**

I thought back to the start of the day, and shuddered at the thought that all days might start like that.

_Flashback_

_I was sitting at my desk, wondering how many more hours of doing nothing I would have to endure, when the teacher walked it. She had short brown hair and glasses. Looked around 30. _

_She called out the roll, pausing to check names every few seconds. It was about half-way through the year, so everyone was pretty quiet. When she reached my name though, everyone turned in their seats to stare at me. Quite un-nerving, if you ask me._

'_Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met before.'_

_Then, she addressed the class._

'_Everybody, this is Maxine Martinez. She is a new student in this class, and I would like you all to make her feel welcome here. Would you like to come up the front, Max?'_

_Great. What a brilliant way to start year 10._

'_Not really.'_

_I hope she got the message soon, because I could not put up with this all year._

'_Wh-, um. But max. Wouldn't you like to introduce yourself to the class?'_

'_No.'_

_She seemed a little flustered at this. I think she was a new teacher. No-one else would've put up with this._

'_Alright. Well, if you have any work to finish, then start on that.'_

_Her name was Ms. Evans. I hope there are more push-overs like her._

'_Hey, newbie.'_

_A… uh, I would like to say "girl", but… I can't. someone walked up to me, someone who I would come to despise. She was wearing almost nothing, a mini-skirt and a napkin tied around her chest. I mean, not literally, but almost._

_I looked up at her from where I was sitting, and she and her two friends were completely _covered _in make-up and fake tanner. It was disgusting._

'_I saw you walking down the halls with Fang this morning. You know, just because you're new here, and just because you get to live with him, don't think you're anything special. I've known him for a lot longer than you have, and let me tell you, you have no chance. Oh, and FYI, my names Brigid. I'm Fangs girlfriend.'_

'_You know, the very fact that you had to come over and say that to me indicates that you think I do have a chance. Your argument just collapsed in in itself.'_

_Before she could say anything else, the bell rang and I followed Fang to science._

'_Why are you following me?'_

'_We have the same timetable. Listen, I don't like this arrangement any more than you do, but can we at least _try _to keep from ripping each other's throats out? For both our sakes. And then I'll be gone in a few months.'_

_He looked at me sceptically, like he was expecting me to do or say something else._

'_Fine.'_

_Well that was easy._

'_But I can't promise you Brigid or Lissa will feel the same way. Or any of their three million followers.'_

_Maybe not._

_End Flashback_

I didn't want to think about it anymore, so I headed downstairs to get something to eat, considering all I had eaten for lunch was an apple and a sandwich, which honestly, was not enough. Not with my inhuman metabolism.

I smelled cookies as soon as I opened my bedroom door. Well, I smelled something cooking, and it made me hungry.

I walked into the kitchen, and saw mom taking out a tray of freshly baked choc-chip cookies. And the other kids weren't far behind me.

I pulled out a stool from under the counter and sat down, waiting for… something.

'Hi Sweetie. How was your first day at school?'

'It was ok.'

'Just ok?'

'Yeah. Nothing really happened.'

Mom turned her attention to the arriving youngsters who sat down either side of me and asked the same question. Angel and Gazzy's days were uneventful, to say the least. We had no homework, considering everyone had just come back from spring break, and I was new.

Mom set the still hot cookies on a plate, and we all dove in. I mean, not literally.

Then, just when I thought I was about to die of boredom, seven armed men burst into the room, and glass could be heard smashing – no. unfortunately, it seemed like nothing exciting was ever going to happen to me here.

But someone, well, two people did come through the door. Two people Carl had left out in the little briefing he gave me. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Stupid Carl.

In walked a man, around his mid-30's, a few years older than mom (by the way, I'm only calling her "mom" because it's easier to write) and a teenage girl with blond hair.

'Oh, Ella! Hi sweetie! How are you?'

'Hi mom. I'm ok.'

The girl named Ella picked up a cookie and started nibbling on it. She said hi to Angel, Gazzy and Fang, but paused when she saw me.

Meanwhile, mom and the Jeb character were talking on the front porch.

'Hi. My names Ella. Uh… who, exactly, are you?'

'Max. I'm going to be staying here for a few months.'

'Oh. Well, I'm Fang and the other's half-sister. Dr M is my mom.'

'I didn't know she was a doctor.'

'Yeah, a vet. Works down at the clinic down the road. She didn't tell you that?'

I shook my head as Ella looked at me weirdly. Like I had grown a second head or something. Well, I did have wings, and that's sort of the same thing, isn't it?

**XXX Don't mind me, I'm just a line break XXX**

So. More surprises. No-one had told mom I was a general, as she found out on Saturday after receiving a call from some official person.

There had been a break-in at one of the neighbour's houses on Thursday, the day after Ella came over and they wanted to know if I had seen anything. I, of course, had not and was extremely pissed that I couldn't go even one week without someone finding out who I am when I was supposed to be undercover.

Gazzy thought it was really cool that I got to drive tanks and helicopters and stuff. Angel didn't really care and Fang seemed indifferent.

Ella, well. She went berserk. She started saying something about telling all her friends who I was and stuff. I immediately shut her up, explaining the importance that my cover must be kept. Somehow, I magaged to make her promise not to tell anyone.

So, nothing happened for the rest of the day, but things weren't about to stay like that.

**Oh, I'm sooooooo sorry I haven't updated in ages! I had people over, then I went to a friend's house and I got writers block and now I'm just making up excuses. Alright, I think it might've had something to fo with the fact that I'm really lazy, but whatever. Let's not pick nits. So yeah. I'll try and update sooner. Please stay with me. R & R!**


	6. Pancakes and panic

**Hi. So. Anyone done anything exciting? I know I haven't. Went down to Torquay, Avalon and 13****th****, but guess what? The stupid wind was flattening out all the surf. I knew there was a valid reason I hate wind! Anyway. I own nothing. I wish I owned the wind. Then I could like, control it. OH MY GOD it would be like that show Air bender! I loved that series when I was a kid.  
Lol. I always used to try to make mini-tornadoes after I had a dream where there was a tornado in our house and I had to shrink it down and squash it on top of a tomato sauce bottle. I got sauce all over my hands, then my fingers turned into sausages and I ate them. Yes, I always have weird dreams like that. **

Chapter 6 – pancakes and panic

'talking' _thinking_

(Max POV)

So the rest of the week went basically the same as it had in the first few hours. I had no idea where to go, so I had to follow Fang everywhere, which drew stares from everyone we passed, including some of the teachers.

I met this girl, Lissa. She looked like Brigid, talked like Brigid and even smelled like her, too. But she was nice. Sure, she dressed as a slut and probably tried to screw anyone she could, but the way she acted was different. I mean, she actually tried to be friends with me.

I guess I'll have to re-think my views of sluts.

I also met JJ. She was almost exactly like Ella, but not (I think they're clones). My favourite subject is science, by far. Our teacher is really nice, and he gave us a demonstration of what happens when you mix some mineral with water. It exploded.

But apart from that, and Brigid's constant threats to sneak into my room and kill me when I'm sleeping (yeah, right), nothing really happened.

Oh, but Fang had one of his friends over on Thursday. His name was Iggy. Wouldn't tell me his real name. what in hell could "Iggy" be short for? He was alright, except for the fact that he always tried to make a move on me, wherever and whenever he could.

**xXx Don't mind me, I'm just a line break xXx**

I asked Ella about mom and Jeb when we arrived home from school on Friday, and apparently they're divorced, but Jeb still loves her. Mom thinks he's and asshole.

**xXx Don't mind me, I'm just a line break xXx**

So now, it's Saturday and as always, moms the first one up. At 8:30, she calls us to the kitchen for breakfast. I don't even bother changing out of the black singlet and camo boxers I wore to bed. Looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't dress for breakfast, either.

Nudge came and stayed the night last night, so she and Angel were up and down there within about 30 seconds. I soon learnt that if you want to get anything around this place, you have to be there fast.

I was used to getting straight up and out of bed whenever I needed to, but this domestic life has been wearing me down. I'm not as sharp as I was a few months ago. And I've only been here for a little over a week.

I was the third person downstairs, with Gazzy hot on my tail, not wanting to miss out. Mom said we had to wait until Ella and Fang got here before we started, so it was around 15 minutes later that the six of us had finished devouring the pancakes.

'Oh, and by the way mom, Iggy is coming over today. Fang and me are going to hang out… uh, somewhere.'

Mom looked more than a little suspicious of where exactly they were going, but let it slip.

'Alright, just don't go blowing up cars again.'

_Again? _Like they had already done it once before?

'We won't.'

He smiled mischievously, like he expected anyone at the table to believe him. So that left me and Ella with nothing to do.

Well, I don't know about her, but it seemed like the breakfast table was where the plans for the day were discussed.

'What about you, Max? What would you like to do today? We could go shopping for more clothes, if you need any.'

I thought about my answer to moms' question. I didn't really like clothes shopping, and I didn't need any clothes, but I didn't want to offend her. Yeah, why would something like that be a bother to me? I work in the army for gods sakes. Why can't I just say no? Oh hey, I can.

'It's alright. I don't need anything else.'

Well, at least I try to be diplomatic. You see, when I was a kid, growing up in the school, I was never allowed any freedom, I could never make any choices for myself (well obviously). But because there was nothing I could do about it, I became frustrated and angry whenever people made me do things I really didn't want to. But because I could never get rid of that frustration, it built up inside me and manifested itself inside my brain.

So when I have done a really horrible job at something I should be good at, I got these violent impulses, like unless I found some way to channel this dangerous energy, I would end up hurting someone. Just a fun fact about myself.

I wasn't feeling annoyed right now or anything, but I kind of just wanted some time alone to sort out what I was going to do about going back to school on Monday. And I had to watch everything the kids say and do to make sure they don't spill my secret. I've already had several assassination attempts on my life, and I didn't need another one now.

So Iggy came and left with Gaz and Fang, all three carrying unusually large backpacks. God help us all.

Ella went out to meet up with someone. I think they were going shopping or something. From what I understood, she was getting fashion advice from a professional. She asked me to come, but after a firm no, she gave in.

So Angel and Nudge were not leaving the house today. They stayed in Angel's room for most of the time, but at about 1:00, I heard a scream from their room. And it wasn't one of those "I saw a spider" screams. It was a "I'm so terrified I think I'm going to die" scream. My mind started thinking of the worst scenarios, and I raced down the hall to the room.

**Finally. Ch 6 is up! Sorry it took so long to write. Will update soon. Reviews are greatly appreciated. :D**


	7. Make over

Chapter 7 – Make over

(Max POV)

I flung the door to Angel's room open and took a quick survey of the scene when I saw not imminent threat. Angel was cowering and sobbing in a corner, and Nudge was gone. Other than that, nothing else was damaged or missing.

The window above the bunk beds was open a few centimetres, not enough for a person to fit through and the glass had not been shattered. There was also no sign of any struggle. Interesting. There might be more to this than I thought.

I walked over to Angel and knelt down in front of her. She looked up at me, almost in fear, but calmed down a little when she saw it was only me. I put my hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.

'Angel. Angel, I need you to listen to me. I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to answer me as best as you can. Do you understand?'

She nodded, and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. She was remarkably quiet for someone in her condition.

'Where is Nudge? Did someone kidnap her?'

She looked at me with a blank expression, like she didn't understand my question. Then, I heard some light footsteps behind me, and I saw someone sneaking up on me in the reflection given off by a shiny metal object that resembled a child's play toy. The figure was holding an aluminium baseball bat above their heads, like they were about to swing at something. _Or someone._

Before I could duck out of the way, Angel grabbed my arms with a force I had no idea she possessed, and covered my eyes with a rag of some sort. Then, I heard someone say;

'Good night, Max.'

And I blacked out.

**XXX Don't mind me I'm just a line break XXX**

When I woke up, I was tied to a metal chair that had been bolted to the floor. My ankles were tied to the two front legs of the chair and my hands were tied around the back of the chair.

The room was mostly white, and I was seated in front of a large mirror. There was a shower to my left and a bath behind that.

'Oh, hello Max. You're awake! Yay!'

_Angel?_

'Uh huh. It's me! And Nudge is here too. It was us! We had been planning to get you for a really long time, and it worked! Aren't we clever?'

_Yeah, you two are Geniuses. So diabolical._

'I feel so diabolical! We could be in the secret services or something. Oh, that would be so much fun! Hey, you work with that type of thing, don't you? Do you think you could put in a good word for us or something?'

_What the hell is she, a mind reader or something?_

And just so you know, they taped my mouth shut. Anything I try to say just comes out muffled and incomprehensible.

'But then again, if i was in the army or whatever, I would have to wear those camo uniforms, wouldn't I? I don't think those would really suit me.'

Ok. So let me get this straight. I've been kidnapped and held against my will by two 10 year olds? Brilliant. My god, this is a whole new low for me. But where was Nudge?

'Alright. So I have found everything we need. We have foundation, blusher, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, fake eyelashes, lip gloss, nail polish, nail files, nail clippers… did I forget anything?'

_Speak of the devil. Literally. _Nudge came rushing in with a floral bag full to the brim with make-up and other items commonly used to torture. She spilled them out all over the counter top and sorted them out into god knows what groups.

'What about the eyelash curlers?'

'Oh. Wait, they're here too. Ok, so we're all set.'

_All set for what?  
_What were they going to do, torture me with make up? Pft, I don't think so. There was no way in hell they were getting anywhere near me with that bag of make-up. Sure, I've faced worse threats than make-up, but the way those girls looked at me made me feel pretty unsure about myself._  
_

'Oh, but Angel. We'll have to un-do her mouth first. What if she screams and somebody hears her?'

'Don't worry. She won't scream. Will you, Max?'

She turned to me as she said this and gave me a pure evil smile. Suddenly, my vision went all shaky and I couldn't see properly. Then, my vision went back to normal, but I wasn't in the bathroom anymore. I was back at the school, strapped to a chair with a big, bleeding hole in my ribcage. I think this is what they call a "Flashback".

_The pain was the first thing that hit me. The guy who stabbed me pulled the knife out of my side and wiped the blood off on his shirt. That was what I got for making noise. I quickly learnt not to speak or make any sound while I was being tortured. Then, another eraser walked towards me, holding a small but sharp scalpel._

'_Now, now Maxie. There's no need to look so frightened. I'm not going to hurt you.'_

_He gave me a wicked grin, showing his disgusting teeth, and placed the sharp metal tool under my eye. I tilted my head back, as far back as I could, trying to get the thing away from me, but there wasn't anything I could do._

_I felt the cold metal scrape my cheek, and blood began to flow. Then, he pressed the thing under my eye and began to add pressure._

I was instantly snapped from my memory when I heard something drop. I opened my eyes, and saw Angel standing in front of me, staring into space. Nudge was staring at her, and i knew something was wrong.

'I have to go pee'

Nudge picked up the eyeliner pencil, and looked over my head, probably at Angel. I heard the door open and close, and nudge started work on the rest of my face.

I don't know how long i sat chained to the chair for, but it felt like hours. Angel came back, and while Nudge worked on my face, Angel fixed my hair.

'Nudge! Stop!'

'What is it?'

'If we put all of her make up on and do her hair now, how will she get her clothes on without ruining it?'

'It's not that hard to put a top on without messing your face up. And if anything gets smudged, we can just fix it, right? 'Caus I don't think she needs a lot. I mean, she's already really pretty, so it would be horrible to cake it up with make up. Don't you think?'

'True...'

Turning towards me, Angel asked if I could manage to put on a shirt without smearing my make up all over my face. Well of course I could. I'm me. The girls continued with the grooming, and even gave me a manicure.

It was one of the worst forms of torture I've ever faced. Mentally, that is. I held back the terrifying memories of the school. I can;t remember a lot from my time there because of a trauma I suffered before I joined the army, but if I'm in a situation like the other one, my brain drags memories up from the murky waters of my subconscious.

When the girls were finished, they un-chained me and gave me some clothes to change into, and left. I worked my way into the strapless top and skinny jeans.

_God, I hate the Bambi eyes._  
Yes, the Bambi eyes were what got me into this mess. They're impossible to say no to. after a while, I had slipped into the jeans and shoes.

I came out of the bathroom when I was finished, and found Nudge waiting for me outside. She was sitting on a chair reading some girls magazine. She looked up, and when she saw me, she squealed. Really loudly. Angel rushed out of her room, and when she saw me, she had the exact same reaction.

So I was stuck with two squealing girls that were circling me like sharks. Or vultures. I felt self-conscious in these clothes, but when Angel and Nudge dragged me to a full-length mirror, I saw what they were screaming about.

I looked different. Good, different, but different. I couldn't begin to describe what I looked like, so I'm not going to try. But I had to admit, and I will never tell a soul I thought this, but I liked it. I actually thought I looked good. And so did the other two.

**So. not as exciting as you thought, I presume. Don't worry, the next couple of chapters will have a little more action. Well, if you can count what happens when rumours get spread around a high school as action. Please R & R!**


	8. Cookie monster

**OH MY GOD! I'm soooooooooooo sorry I haven't updaed n forever! I would make up some excuse, but I think I'm just lazy. I will definitely try to update sooner. I'm so sorry! Well, I own nothing.**

_Thoughts _'speaking'

Chapter 8 – Cookie monster

(Max POV)

I was shaken up about the whole being-tied-to-a-chai-and-almost-forced-to-wear-make-up thing, yesterday, and my sub-conscious wasn't so keen on letting it go, so I woke up at around 3 AM, sweating and panting from the nightmare. I hate my brain sometimes.

I finally managed to get back to sleep, after a few hours of restless tossing and turning, and when I woke up in the morning, I felt like crap. And just for future references, when I say morning, I mean late afternoon. Like, 2:30.

When I went downstairs to get some breakfast, I saw a note from mom saying Angel and Nudge had gone to Nudges' house and Gazzy (or zephyr, the note said Zephyr, but he had told me to call him Gazzy, so… whatever) was with mom. _But where's Fang?_

So about half an hour after I got out of bed, Fang and Iggy burst through the front door, looking out of breath and tired. Dust rained down from Iggy's hair as he shook it out.

A small tug on my heart reminded me of a scene from when I was in the school with Damon. With the rushing in and being out of breath and stuff. Not the dirt in the hair part. That would be weird.

'What the hell happened to you two?'

They both just stared at me as I stood in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning of one of the sides of the frame. Oh, and to all the guys reading this, then here's a hint; if you want to make an impression on a girl, don't start by looking like either of them.

'Don't ask.'

It was Fang who spoke, while Iggy headed straight for the kitchen.

'Wow. You _can _talk. Who knew?'

I heard a loud banging noise from the kitchen, and Fang walked past me with a worried look on his face. I think Iggy is the sort of guy who likes to cause trouble.

Ok, let's just take a step back here. So Fang and Iggy bust through the door, hair covered in dirt and completely out of breath. Fang doesn't want me to ask any questions. Suspicious, much?

I turned around to face into the kitchen and observed as Fang and Iggy tried to find something buried deep within the cupboards. Well, I think that's what they were doing.

'Found it!'

Iggy shouted from his position inside the cupboard. As he brought his head up, he bumped it on the underside of the cupboard, and several metal bowls fell down and hit him, also making a loud crashing noise in the process.

'Good one, Ig.'

Fangs total word count: 5

The item Iggy emerged holding looked nothing like… anything, really. It was wrapped in duct tape and about the size of a small wallet. I also noticed that neither of the boys had their backpacks with them, either. You know, the same ones they (plus Gaz) had the other day? Well, I hadn't seen any of the three packs since Fang, Ig and Gaz took them out of the house.

'What's that?'

They looked up at me in either shock or surprise. I couldn't tell, but apparently they hadn't expected me to be here when they retrieved the package.

'It's Ig's wallet.'

'Uh-huh. Do I even _want _to know what you're doing here?'

They both shook their heads, and seemed relieved that I was finally leaving. I decided that their business is their business, and as long as it doesn't affect me, I'm ok.

Both boys hurried out of the house as soon as they had their "thing". I had nothing else to do all day, except finish some homework, so like the loner that I am, I got started on an essay that was due in that week.

After 10 minutes of staring at the wall in my bedroom, trying to think of a way to start the damn essay, Ella walked in. I had forgotten about her.

'Hey, Max. Where is everyone else?'

'Oh, uh, your mom took Gazzy shopping, Angel is out with Nudge and I think Fang and Ig are planning to blow something up.'

'Huh. What'cha workin' on?'

'Essay.'

She nodded and left to go places where people with lives go. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have a life and I've made a few friends here, but getting along with other people isn't one of my strong points. The rest of the day was boring, and nothing else happened, but I did finish my essay. It's a wonderful life I have. Wasting time with homework when I should be somewhere else, shooting people's heads off. _Thank you for the lovely mental picture, brain._

Fang and Iggy arrived home a few minutes before mom and Gaz, and whatever they were doing seemed to work, judging by the grin on Iggy's face.

I was in the kitchen, Om nom nomming on my private stash of moms' cookies. I quickly hid the jar and wiped any crumbs off the bench when I heard them come in, but even my super-human speed was too slow, because before I had even finished my mouthful, in walked the devil and his side-kick. The devil, of course, being Fang.

What happened next was too depressing to say, but it ended up with Fang pinning me down to the floor and Iggy stealing all my hard-earned cookies.  
'Now Max. I don't want to do this to you, but I will if I have to. We will give you back your precious cookies of you agree to not tell _anyone _about what you saw today. Deal?'  
I cannot believe this is happening. How did I get in this position? No, that isn't important. What matters now is that I get my cookies back. ALL of them. So I did the most logical thing. I wriggled both my legs out from underneath me and kicked at Fang with a minimal force. But it was enough to get him off me. I dived for the jar, but Iggy had remarkably good reflexes for a blind guy. Did I mention he was blind? Of not, then here I am, mentioning it. So don't say I didn't tell you.

So we ended up in similar positions as before, only this time, Fang had a tighter grip. I glared up at him and Iggy, who was holding a cookie in one hand and the jar in the other.

'Well Max. I gave you a chance. Now, you will pay.'

And with that, he ATE MY COOKIE! **(lol. That sounds so wrong) **I growled at him, and he smirked. One good part of being blind, for him at least, is that he can't see the numerous amounts of death glares I give him.

**Please be patient with me. School just started and its getting really hard to find writing time. I'm sorry! Please R & R!**


	9. The night from Hell

**Ack! I'm so so so so so so so so sorry! I haven't updated in like, a year! I think I've gotten a bit bored of it… but hopefully once I start writing again I'll get back into it. Anyway. I'm going to try to make this chapter longer than the rest. Again, I'm really sorry for not updating for AGES. And I still own nothing.**

_Thoughts _'speaking'

Chapter 9 – The night from Hell

(Max POV)

So here I am and it's a Friday night. Angel and nudge are at a friends' party and I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV and finishing my homework, not bothering anyone, not doing anything I shouldn't be, when the guy upstairs decides to have some fun. And by "have fun" I mean "give me hell".

Fang and Ig went out somewhere and returned a few minutes later with some of my worst nightmares in tow. Do you wanna guess who it was? Yep. Brigid. And her lackeys. Well, I say lackeys… I really mean entourage. There was Brigid, her friends, Dylan, Sam, Fang and Iggy (obviously) and Lissa. Well, Lissa was alright. There were also two other girls I didn't recognize.

And that's not even the worst of it. Most of them had over-night bags. Please, let this not be true!

'Max, we're staying here for tonight. Take out bags upstairs for us. Thank you.'

_Uh, no_.  
It was one of Brigid's friends who had spoken, but I could hardly tell the difference between them. They all had fake blond hair, over-done fake-tan and were wearing almost no clothes.

The girls (minus Lissa) had dumped their bags at the door without so much as a hello. And then I realised another problem. There were no spare rooms upstairs.

'No. if you want your bags taken somewhere, get one of your boy toys to do it for you.'

The girl (let's call her G1 and the other girl who also isn't Brigid can be G2) looked at me with a shocked expression.

'Excuse me? What did you say?'

'I'm not your slave. And there are no spare rooms upstairs. You'll have to sleep down here.'

Ok, ok. So I know this isn't my house or anything, but if someone's speaking to me like that, then it must be ok for me to be a bitch to them, right?

'Fang said you have to move all your stuff out of there and keep it down here until we're gone. And I'll also need you to wash the sheets before I go to bed. I don't want to be sleeping on your filth.'

_Why am I letting her talk to me this way?  
_I glared at Fang and pulled him, literally, pulled him into the kitchen.

'What the hell is going on?'

'This isn't your house.'

'Why did you say she could sleep in my room? I'm still living here, you know. I haven't been killed yet.'

'You can stay in my room if you have to.'

'Are there any alternatives? Really. I'll take anything else.'

'You could sleep on the couch. Or with Iggy.'

Well, you gotta give him credit. This guy has a lot of nerve.

'This should _not _be happening to me.'

I walked out of the kitchen and I went upstairs to MY room. So I had three choices. 1) Stay with Iggy. No. I am not spending one night with that creep. 2) Sleep on the couch. What, that thing? No way. I swear I saw some rats crawling around under the cushions one time. And the last (and honestly, the most appealing) option, to stay with Fang. Well, at least I would get my peace and quiet.

Oh, to hell with that. I'm a General. I cannot count the amount of times I have nearly died for this country. I have fought for the right for people like Brigid to dress and act like she does, and right now, I'm kind of wishing I hadn't. Only a little.

But I have taken on way more than this, and I will not stand for someone kicking me out of a room I'm staying in in someone's house who I had no previous knowledge of before I met said person. Confused? Yeah, just go with it.

So I went downstairs to sort out this mess. When I got there, I heard strings of ear-shattering laughter coming from the basement.

_They have a basement?  
_The girls' bags were just inside the front door, and it was shut. I heard someone rattling around in the kitchen, and went to see who it was. Oh, only Lissa.

'Hey Max. I'm sorry about those other girls. They can get really annoying.'

This time, she was actually wearing some clothes. Amazing.

'Don't worry about moving out of your room. They can find somewhere else to sleep.'

I smiled a bit, and walked over to the pantry, looking for food.

'I wasn't going to move. And it's not your fault they're all bitches.'

She gave me a small smile, and finding nothing to my appeal, I started walking back to my room. The basement door was slightly ajar, and amongst all the squealing and giggling, I heard my name. so I did the normal thing, and waited, wondering what they were talking about.

The giggling died down a little, and I could actually hear what they were saying, thanks to my superior hearing. Someone said something, too quietly for me to hear, so like the idiot that I am, I ventured down the first few steps. I could hear them more clearly now. I think it was Sam who spoke next, but I couldn't be sure.

'Ya' know, I think Fang likes her.'

_What? Is this the kind of stuff they usually talk about?  
_There was a few moments of silence, and the next question that was asked was the same one I had been wondering.

'Ad what, exactly, would give you that idea?'

The voice was low and dangerous, sending a shiver up my spine for the first time.

'Sam's right, Fang. You act so weird around her, like she's toxic or something.'

'I don't like her. So what?'

'You dislike her a little too much, if you ask me.'

I didn't realize it, but I had snuck down to the last step, and was now standing right outside the door. I turned to leave, `wanting to get out before I caused any trouble.

I had taken two steps, when someone grabbed me by the collar and dragged me back down. The person let go and turned me to face them. I'll give you three guesses as to who it was. If you guessed Fang, good job! If you guessed someone else, I think you need to read this story again.

'Hey, Fang. Stop spazzing out! What're you doing?'

'We have a visitor.'

He shoved me into the large room where the plastics and their boy toys were waiting. I straightened myself out and stared down at them. The next person to speak was the one person who's voice I wanted to hear least.

'Oh, Max. How nice of you to drop in.'

Fang walked to where he had been sitting before, and dragged me by the wrist. I fell into an armchair, and everyone turned and stared at me.

'What?'

My "voice" wasn't working on them though. They all seemed completely unaffected by it.

'Why were you listening?'

'Why do you care? Unless you have something to hide?'

Brigid flinched at this.

_Bulls-eye  
_'Why were you listening?'

'I heard you talking about me. Can you blame me for being curious?'

'No, but we can blame you for listening in on something you shouldn't have.'

Dylan leaned forward in his seat as he said this, trying to look tough I guess.

'So you didn't want me to hear whatever you were talking about, which included me. A little suss, no? But, believe it or not, I don't give a crap what you are up to, or who you bitch about. So if we're done here, I'm gonna leave.'

Nobody said anything as I stood up and left, but I could feel at least 3 people glaring at me.

If I haven't already mentioned, mom was out with a bunch of friends. Well, it is a Friday. Which is sad, because I have almost no friends here. Or anywhere else, really.

So I go back to what I was doing before my beautiful (and boring) peace was interrupted. Watching TV and doing homework. I have sunken so low.

Of course, focusing on anything is almost impossible with a bunch of brats squealing in the basement almost directly beneath you. Either those floors are really thin, or those girls are really loud. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go with the second option.

Thanks to my super-human hearing, I could hear most of what they were saying, and it sounded like they are playing truth or dare. Dear god. I heard Lissa's voice among the ear-shattering squeals, and it surprised me that she was hanging out with them.

_Well, what else is there to do?_  
Then, everything went quiet, but I missed what was said before because of that stupid TV. But I did hear the door open, and someone walking up the stairs.

I pretended to be doing homework, you know, acting casual and all.

The footsteps were light and slow. Not one of the girls, they were all wearing heels. Iggy, maybe? Or Sam. He was a little more lightweight than the rest.

There wasn't a door to the living room, but there was a doorway, and when the person walked through it, I turned to look at them. Fang. Huh. Wouldn't have guessed.

I turned back to my homework, wondering what he could want with me. He came and sat down next to me on the couch.

_What's happening? I can't help feeling like this is _their _doing…  
_I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a "what?" look. He turned so he was facing me, and it was honestly kinda creepy.

I mean, think about it. You move in with a family you don't know, they have an emo son who has a limit of 10 words a day, and he, being one of the most anti-social (yet still surprisingly popular) people on the planet comes and sits next to you for no reason and stared at you while you do your homework, and starts kissing you.

_Kissing? What?  
_I snap back to reality, and he has one hand cupping my face, and the other grabbing me wrist. His lips were warm and – _NO! MAX! THINK!_

I pulled back and stood up, fuming.

'What the HELL do you think you're doing?'

'I was kissing you. And it looked like you liked it.'

He was facing me and dammit, he was taller than me, so I couldn't do me signature glare move, so I went for the alternative. What's the best way to wipe the smirk off a guy who just kissed you without your permission? Punch 'em. A clean, swift uppercut should do.

Well, it would've done, if I had hit him. But he dodged out of the way, and caught me in a bear hug from behind.

I considered throwing him over my shoulder, but decided against it because we were inside. Instead, I stomped on him foot as hard as I could – a girly move, I know, and I'm not proud of it – and elbowed him in the gut. This one, I got right.

I slipped out of his grasp, and stood, facing him. He smirked at me, and I glared at him. Then – and get this – he walked past me and slapped my ass! I grabbed his wrist before he was out of my reach, and twisted it so I had his whole arm twisted behind his back and he was bent forward and my back was to a wall.

'If you touch me again, I _will_ break your arm.'

'You seem very confident in yourself.'

I couldn't and never will figure it out, but somehow he got out of the lock and pinned me up against the wall. He had both my slim wrists in one hand, and the other was on my hip.

'But you're not that great, darlin'.'

'Oh, but I really am.'

'So just because you have wings, you're automatically better than everyone else? You're up on your high horse, and its time somebody brought you down.'

**Ok! It's done! Again, I'm so sorry. I would've posted this earlier but I had to re-write it. Well, I didn't have to, but if you had all waited for this long and got a crappy little chapter like that… you would've killed me. So anyway, I'm sorry it's been so long, the next chapter is about halfway done and I'll be posting soon. If there are any grammatical or plot-related mistakes, please PM me and just stick with me. And as always, thank you so much for reading.**

**-SS**


	10. The truth

**Ok. So I'm back. And I'm going to stay back as long as I don't get too much more homework. I hope you liked the last chapter, and I still, sadly, own nothing. Heeeeey… I wonder if I could buy the rights to the flock?**

_Thoughts __**Angel's thoughts**_'speaking'

Chapter 10 – The truth

(Max POV)

I stood there, staring at him in pure shock.

_How did he know about the wings?  
_Apparently I said that out loud.

'I've seen you flying at night.'

_Well crap._

'Have you told anyone?'

'No, but he's thought about it a lot.'

Angel was standing in the far doorway, arms crossed and a scary expression on her face.

'Fang, you should tell her.'

'Tell me what?'

'She's not supposed to know.'

'But she has them too! We can trust her!'

What were they talking about? I felt like I was missing something big here, but the fact that Angel said Fang's been _thinking _about it a lot didn't escape my notice. How would she know what he's thinking, unless he has a journal, and she read it, or he makes a habit of pouring his heart out into her when no-one else can see…

_Shut up, idiot._  
'Because I can read and control minds. Fang –'

'WHAT? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it. You can read minds?'

'Yes.'

'And control them?'

She nodded, and my blood ran cold when I realized what this meant. Our national security has been compromised! She could've found out everything someone would need to launch a terrorist attack that would wipe out Americas entire military force!

'Relax. I'm not evil. Well, not entirely. But don't worry. I won't sell your secrets to North Korea, China, Russia…'

'Well it's nice to know I can trust you with our countries top secrets.'

'You're welcome. Fang, you need to tell Max. We can trust her. And I know you want to screw her, but do you have to be so obvious about it? Please, I'm going to have nightmares for weeks.'

She scrunched up her nose, and at that moment, Nudge walked in behind her. The two girls walked past us and up the stairs. He released me, and I glared at him.

'You have some explaining to do.'

**~~~TIME SKIP~~~**

So Fang and I were in my room, and he had told me everything. He, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy and Nudge – who was not related to them – all had wings, and mom knew about it. He said she helped them when they needed it. So, she had eventually adopted them after the school – the same people who made me – had given up looking for them. No-one knew why they had stopped, but I had a hunch that it was because of me.

Apparently, I'm the most successful experiment they'd ever created. They really know how to make a girl feel special.

Dylan also had wings, though no-one had told mom. He still has his parents. I had been made in the same batch as the others; Fang said he remembered seeing him being showed off to potential buyers. So the school also runs a slave trade.

I had almost no memories from my childhood, because I suffered a brain trauma a few years before I joined the army.

They had told me all the basics, I had been brought up there, my parents were dead, I had wings and would probably develop other mutations later in life, but I remember nothing from my time in the school. And I'm glad I don't.

But then came the awkward subject of telling mom about my wings. But – and I would say thankfully, but I can't – Brigid walked in with Dylan towing her bags.

'Fang! Hey. I was wondering where you were. Why are you up here with _her_? And I thought I told you to move all your stuff out of here, Max.'

'Oh, you did. But I don't take orders from the likes of, well, anyone.'

'Fang. Make her move.'

'You heard her. She doesn't have to listen to you. And this isn't your house. Max and Lissa can share this room. You can find somewhere else to sleep.'

Looking desperate, Brigid turned to Dylan.

'Dylan. Help me!'

Fang glared at him, and I have to say, I was impressed. He could almost beat me in a glaring contest. Almost. But while he might not be as talented as I in the art of glaring, it worked on Dylan.

'Maybe we should find somewhere else to sleep. You could share with me.'

'UGH! Why doesn't anybody care about me?!'

On her way out, she stumbled, and caught herself on the doorframe, and Dylan followed her out.

Fang said goodnight to me, and left. It was only then that I realized how late it was. I checked the clock on my bedside table, and it read 12:32AM. I wondered for a moment what the others were doing, but then remembered again that I didn't care.

I noticed how tired I was, and decided to go brush my teeth. I took a few steps before I stepped on something soft and bouncy. I looked down, and saw that it was a mattress. There was also a bag I didn't recognize sitting in the corner. Then, Lissa walked into my room in her PJ's.

_You said she could sleep in your room.  
_'Oh, hey Max. You still don't mind me sleeping here, do you?'

'No, no. It's fine. I didn't notice you had set up already.'

She smiled at me, and I went into the bathroom and performed my new routine. Just the usual, brush my teeth, wash my face, all that jazz. All that incredibly, unimaginably boring jazz. Ah, I miss the high life.

**~~~TIME SKIP~~~**

I woke up at 8:26, and was lured to the kitchen by the smell of something cooking. It turns out Saturday is Pancake Day. Well, pancake morning. And I, being the marvellous creation that I am, need around 3000 more calories than the average human.

I think that's what someone said. I dunno. But I do need a lot of food, so I was pleased when I saw the massive bowl of mix. There were little brown things in the bowl, and I couldn't see clearly what they were.

Sam and Brigid had gone home, and Lissa was sitting at the bench, eating something that didn't look like a pancake. A new diet, I suppose.

_**She's trying to lose weight so she can fit into a dress. Or something like that. And those little brown things are choc chips, by the way.**_

I jumped in my seat, and turned around, looking for the source of the voice.

_**I'm in your head, Max. I already told you I can read and control minds. What did you expect?  
**__Angel?  
__**Morning. And don't worry. Everyone else knows about this.  
**__Right. Well, this is… normal. And choc chips in pancakes? Will that work?  
__**Yes. And it will take delicious and you will eat it and you will like it.  
**__Alright, fine, fine. I'll eat your stupid choc chop pancakes._

I had seen and heard a few weird things in my life, but this was just plain creepy.

'Good morning, Max. did you have a nice sleep?'

'Yeah, thanks.'

'Oh, it's alright. Now, how many pancakes do you want?'

I didn't want to be ruse or anything, but I was starving. I guess mom knew about the calorie factor, but she didn't know about me, unless Angel had told her.

_**Don't worry, I haven't. I thought you would want to do that yourself.  
**__Get out of my head, Angel. It is not a friendly place._

'3, please.'

'Only 3? Will that be enough? Well, I suppose you could make some more yourself if you're still hungry…'

Me? Make anything apart from meat that can be cooked over an open fire? I don't think so. Maybe I could get Iggy to do it for me…

And while I'm remembering completely pointless and irrelevant things, I remembered that someone in the training department had a super-rich friend who is currently building some sort of training arena.

I'm not entirely sure what it was, but it sounded great. Like a national park. You know, like Yellowstone, but not as big. And used for training outdoor survival. That'd be fun.

I'd also heard from leaked sources that there would be a massive tree house type structure for paintball. God, it sounds incredible. Already, my mind was inventing new ways to torture the newbies.

It's supposed to be finished soon, but there's no set could be anytime from tomorrow to next year. And I just hoped I would be around to use it.

Lissa's mobile rang, snapping me out of my thoughts and back into reality, which at this time, was kinda slow. It was her mom, and she walked off into another room.

Then, like some creepy coincidence, the others walked in. the others. That sounds weird. In my mind, it's like, me and _them_. Except, it turns out, I was one of _them _so the whole thing went ka-poof.

Mom greeted them in that happy-go-lucky way she has that makes me want to vomit, and took their orders.

Mom served the pancakes for me, and I poured some sweet stuff on it, and devoured them. And let me tell you, they were the best pancaked I've ever eaten.

Actually, before I came here, I'd never had them before. When I first heard of it, I imagined a chocolate cake being cooked in a frypan. yeah, I'm weird like that.

Lissa walked back in, and explained something about some sort of family crisis, I don't know, it was all jumbled up, but apparently she was leaving. People certainly like to get up early here. Its only 9:34 and everyone's gone already.

Which leaves me, Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy and mom standing/sitting around the kitchen bench. Nudge had stayed later because her and Angel were practically sisters. And things grew very awkward very quickly.

Mom noticed their silence, so this wasn't normal for them.

'Hey, kids. What's up? You're all so quiet. Is everything alright?'

Angel looked at me, and I felt a tug on my mind, if that makes sense.

_**You should tell her, Max. Not one of us.  
**__Why? Why do I have to?  
__**Because if you don't, then I will, and she may as well hear it from you.**_

I couldn't believe I was being pressured into something like this by a six year old!

'Dr. M, there's something I need to tell you.'

Ok, sure, I called her mom in my head, but that was the limit.

'Max, please. Don't be so formal with me. I know you're only here for a short time, but call me Val, at the very least. What did you want to talk about? Does it have something to do with why you're all so moody this morning?'

Well, its not or never. Actually, I never really understood that saying. Or "there's no time like the present". Because if there really was no time like the present, it would be completely pointless to say something like that because you would've already done whatever you were referring to. Does that make sense? Meh. It's good enough for me.

_Stop stalling, Max.  
_

'Dr. M, I have wings.'

**So it's not as long as the other chapter, and not as exciting, but it's just setting up the scene for the next few chappies. So yeah, Max found out that Angel's a mind reader/hacker and the rest of the gang have wings.**

**As always, please keep reading, and any and all reviews are appreciated. If you have any comments about things I could improve on, please tell me. I read what you say, well, write, and try to fix any problems with the plot or grammar.**

**Over and out,**

**- SS**


End file.
